Newcomers Wakefield AFC will place emphasis on their long-term development

CHRIS TURNER says it will be a case of “slowly, but surely” for new club Wakefield AFC, which was officially unveiled yesterday.
NEW ERA (left to right): Mike Hegarty, Chris Turner and Russ Green at the press conference to launch Wakefield AFC.NEW ERA (left to right): Mike Hegarty, Chris Turner and Russ Green at the press conference to launch Wakefield AFC.
NEW ERA (left to right): Mike Hegarty, Chris Turner and Russ Green at the press conference to launch Wakefield AFC.

The former Sheffield Wednesday manager and goalkeeper was revealed as chairman of the club, who will start out life in the Central Midlands League and initially play their home games at the ground of nearby Pontefract Collieries.

The aim will then be for the club to move into the redeveloped Belle Vue and share the pitch and ground with Super League’s Wakefield Trinity.

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Turner, 60, who also played for Manchester United and Sunderland before going on to manage at Hartlepool United and Stockport County, said steady progress was the aim of the people working behind the new venture.

“The ambition as a club is to thrive and prosper,” he said. “This is not a project where there are hundreds and thousands of pounds being poured into it in order to buy the best players and shoot up the leagues.

“We’re going to develop players, develop teams, develop the club, develop support and develop with the communuity –that is what it is all about.

“We’re not sitting here thinking we’re going to waltz into the EFL. We just want to progress slowly but surely and make sure that the basis of the club stays here for many years to come.”

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Mike Hegarty, one of the businessmen behind the project, said Wakefield – the only city without its own professional football club – deserved to have a team of which its residents could be proud.

“This is the culmination of a nine-year dream,” he said. “After years of negotiations and a hunt for a suitable management team and guarantors we are able to launch Wakefield AFC with a clear plan to develop professional football in the city.”